Trapped
by Twins 'n Fandoms
Summary: Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus, was exploring his bunker when he fell in a tunnel, activated a door and fell in Joey Drew Studios. How could he get out now?
1. Chapter 1

**This is your normal "*insert fandom*" meets Bendy and the Ink Machine.**

 **Oh, sorry. The Hunger Games!AU is still taking time. I might finish this first before I finish it since it's really looooooong.**

 **'Nuff said, let's get on with the story!**

* * *

Disclaimer:

"Yeah, I don't own PJO," Louise grunted as she pressed a key wildly on her keyboard to kill the searchers. "Oh, yeah, I don't own BATIM as well." She grinned, hitting them with her axe. "Uh, yeah, I actually own that."

A puppet from her screen suddenly breaks the fifth wall and wacks her on the head. Louise rubbed it for a short moment of time before seeing _oh my gosh is that Sammy Lawrence up there watching me?_ and quickly controlling Henry. "No need for that, Mister Meatly," she grunted and kept on killing the seachers once more.

* * *

"Oh, wow," Leo Valdez murmured, his hand on the walls, looking for inscriptions or strange symbols.

Stupid Leo, he whacked himself mentally. He had been exploring the aircraft hanger-sized bunker when he accidentally stepped on some trap tile or something, which flipped over and he landed into a hidden tunnel below.

Dude, what if this is THE Labyrinth? Didn't Pasiphae tell you that the Labyrinth would be growing soon?

He took a deep breath and lit both hands with fire. "Calm down, Leo. This isn't the Labyrinth, it's dead, Pasiphae's dead, the Labyrinth wouldn't be around anymore, because it wouldn't make an sense, so calm down," he rambled on as he walked, watching the flames on his hands dance with almost an eerie tune and with synchronization. He looked far left and far right, sighing as he kicked a pebble.

He sat on the ground and got all tools he need in making a compass. He needed to do something, maybe this time, a compass would work, even though he knew deep inside that the compass would go haywire-

As soon as his hand touched the floor, he felt gears and the moving of machinery underneath him.

Too late, he realized as something jerked behind him and he fell backwards into the opening, crashing on the floor.

He shuddered as he heard the wooden boards underneath him creak and groan under his weight, and if it was machine talk, Leo would've understood it as somewhere between the lines of shut up and be careful. He carefully stood up, making a mental note to avoid this part of the floor and looked around. "There is something definitely wrong in this place," he said out loud, looking at the hallway yellowed and worn away by time. It looked like it was abandoned for several years, cobwebs decorating the crooks of walls and cracks on the walls here and there. The place was ruined alright, and Leo didn't need to be an architect to see the walls swaying to hold the building and the slowly growing cracks held up by wood boards.

Man, he was getting a creepy vibe from this place.

"How is this place even holding up?" He asked himself, wandering as he heard something dripping in the distance. Oh gods of Olympus, please don't tell me there's monsters in here... Leo thought and slapped his forehead. "Geez Leo, you're an awful ray of sunshine," he muttered, lowering his flame so the place wouldn't burn up in flames.

He looked back, seeing a door that looked like it had been opened recently and pondered his options. Explore or escape?

His ADHD part of him said: "Go on, Leo, what could happen in an abandoned studio? You have your magical tool belt and you could whack any monster you wanted to die. Everything's gonna be okay" while the other part yelled: "Bad idea. Bad idea. Bad idea. Bad idea."

He didn't want to go further into this creepy place so he went for the door slowly, remembering the rotting boards and he inched around them, not wanting to fall down to his death. He reached for the doorknob and tried twisting it, even oiling it and making a makeshift key but the door stubbornly refused to open to him.

He looked at the hallway, gulping.

"Stupid magical door." Leo sighed as he inched around the floorboards and ventured into the hallway, gazing at the different posters decorating the walls.

"Bendy in Little Devil Darlin'? Bendy in The Dancing Demon? Wait... is this some kind of headquarters for this cartoon thing?" He wandered out loud, examining the posters.

He knew this cartoon, it was his abuelo's favorite cartoon back when he was young, and his mom loved watching it with him.

He snapped his fingers in realization. The figure on those posters IS Bendy.

Oh, man. His mom dreamed of coming to the studios, she used to wish on it, her fingers running through Leo's untamable wild curls as she dreamily wished that she would come to the studio where her favorite cartoon was born.

And Leo was here now.

He would've spend a long time staring at those posters but his ADHD made him alert and he needed to move. He didn't know why, but HE needed to move.

He moved into the big room in front, with an old, dusty projector on the far left side of the room that was still unbelievably intact. A creepy Bendy cutout was innocently propped up beside the table where the projector was set up.

Leo shuddered. The Bendy cutout was placed a little too conveniently placed to look like its pie-cut eyes were watching his every move.

He walked away and ventured into the right hall until he found rows of desks caked in dust, small doodles of Bendy scattered here and there. He saw a faint shimmer of gold at a tiny plate beside a desk and blew away the dust, reading "Henry".

Maybe this was the creator? Or just a plain animator working here? The guy's name looked important, seeing as there was a gold plate with his name on it.

He frowned at the Bendy cutout beside the small drawing desk. These cutouts seem to be everywhere. Were they that big of a Bendy fanatic?

Oh, wait. Yes, they are. They made Bendy and it would make sense that cutouts were everywhere.

But still. It was seriously creepy.

Leo heard sudden soft music coming from the lobby as he inspected a small jar of ink, dropping it. He carefully went back to the main room and found the projector playing a soft tune and a glow on the walls. "Hello?" He called out. "Anybody there?"

Nobody answered him. There was someone here with him in this studio. Because, who could've possibly turned on the projector?

"Alright, whoever you are, what do you want to do with me?"

The dripping of something seemed to grow louder.

He stared at the Bendy cutout innocently looking at him with a cheshire grin.

Did it look that evil before?

He shook his head. Don't stay in one place for too long, his brain reminded him. Remember those rotting floorboards? Oh, right. Feeling a bit suspicious, he wandered down the hallway on the left.

The sound of dripping became louder and Leo was astonished. He wasn't looking at raindrops leaking through the roof. It was a black fluid substance that oozed slowly from the ceiling and dripped on the floor.

But Leo wasn't freaked out at that. He was straight up terrified by the sinister writing on the wall.

DREAMS COME TRUE

Leo extinguished his fiery hand and held it out, letting the strange substance scatter over it. He suddenly remembered the puddle of ink splattered on his shoes as he dropped the small bottle of ink over it before. "Ink?" He wondered out loud in disbelief. "This is seriously creepy now."

He went forward and found a row of doors on each side. He noticed one had a light shining from underneath, so he tried to open it.

The word being 'tried'. Leo pounded his fists on the door. "Hey dude!" He yelled. "I don't know what game you're playing with me but stop it!"

He heard no response and he punched the door in frustration. Oh, gods of Olympus, does he have to find and confront that prankster just so that he can get the Hades out of here?

He went further down the hall, turned a corner and tripped headfirst on a large pipe. He sighed, rubbing his sore forehead and stepped over it, seeing a majestic view of enormous chains hanging from the ceiling and going deep down into what seemed like an endless black abyss from a balcony with railings to keep him from falling down.

"Woah." Leo stared at it in amazement, and looked around, finding a large lever peeking out from the walls. He also spotted the controls and moved over to it, examining it. "Hmm. I think it needs some nice batteries," he said, searching for it in his magical tool belt's pockets and frowning at a wet cell battery.

"I'm gonna need something bigger," he grinned, finding a shelf with dry cell batteries. "Let's just see if this actually works."

He carried one and fit it inside the slot for the battery then did the sensible thing his mechanic self always did: to pull the lever, while his other side yelled "NO!" every step of the way.

Suddenly, the room began to rumble and move. Leo had to clutch on to the railings to avoid suddenly pitching forward. He hoped the balcony could hold him and not crack-

The chains suddenly creaked as they moved sluggishly and Leo watched with fascination as it pulled a giant machine from the black hole.

The thing... the machine was half as big as Festus! Probably bigger than the Zeus cabin too!

Drip, drop, drip, drop echoed in the large, empty room as Leo saw the black fluid - more ink? - trickle from the nozzle of the machine and down into the hole. "Ink Machine?" His mind slowly caught up with his eyes looking at a sign.

"I don't know what you're making me do, mysterious prankster that doesn't want to show himself, but thanks for showing me this cool machine," Leo whistled. Why would there be an Ink Machine in an animation studio? Leo knew that ink was precious before, in the 1920s or so, but this was a bit more overkill. Was it a trend to get the biggest Ink Machines back then?

Still. The machine was pretty cool.

"I wonder how you turn it on." Leo thought out loud, turning to where he came from. He was stuck down here so why not explore? He couldn't stay in one place for so long too because, stupid ADHD.

He made sure to hop over the large pipe and head back down the hall, suddenly freezing. That door on the right - wasn't there light glowing underneath it before? He rubbed his eyes. Must be a strange coincidence. Or probably that stupid prankster that lured him to that Ink Machine.

I think that prankster wants me to fix or repair this Ink Machine thing.

Sighing, Leo turned the corner abruptly and came face to face with another hallway, a chill crawling up his spine as he took a step backwards. "Oh no. Oh no. Oh Hades no." He muttered. Was he going insane? He swore there was shutter closed tightly there before...

Was this studio made into some kind of twisted haunted house? Yeah, that would probably be it, it just wasn't swarmed because it wasn't opened it, yeah, that was probably it.

He felt himself moving. Stupid ADHD. He just got to had the worst case of ADHD known to demi-gods.

He forced himself to look and nearly peed his pants as he came face to face with another Bendy cut-out, its eyes staring amusingly at him like it was saying: LOL, scaredy-cats aren't allowed here.

Leo's tightly balled hands twitched. Styx, these cut-outs were annoying and scaring him to Hades. He continued onwards, summoning a flashlight from a pocket in his tool belt and stepped forward to be interrupted with a long wood board drop from the ceiling exactly right in front of him.

That was a definite sign that someone was there with him. He looked up and glared at the spot where the board fell from. "I know you're there, you nasty prankster," he let out in a warning tone of voice.

Silence greeted him. So they were going to play this game, huh? Leo could play that.

He suddenly spotted something large and dark in the corner of his left eye and glanced at it. He squinted at the darkness and felt his stomach turn inside out and he had the sudden instinct to barf.

Come on, Leo. Don't make assumptions, that might be something else... he thought grimly to himself as he inched forward, chills running up and down his spine as he could make out the gruesome sight before him, feeling sick to his stomach as he got closer-

And saw a black and white toon wolf gutted, with cartoonish X eyes that signified that the toon was dead. It was funny in the cartoons but definitely not funny in real life. Leo weakly put a hand to his mouth as he leaned against the wall for support. It's chest had been gutted out brutally, it's ribs pried apart and he found a wrench sitting in his rib cage. It was strapped to a slanted table, where is that inky blood was staining it's clothes, the straps and the table.

Leo shuddered. "There is no way in Hades this is real. This is just a prop for the haunted house, yeah, I forgot that part," he gulped as he watched the shadow dance from the illumination of lights underneath him, the candles surrounding it softly illuminating the unreadable ink prescriptions behind it.

"Oh, yeah. I think I AM going to be sick."

It looked like a sacrificial ritual... but how did they get a wolf like this that wore overalls...?

Wait, there was a wolf toon in the Bendy cartoons that looked exactly like this wolf, he glanced at the walls, spotting a poster. "Oh, yeah. Boris the Wolf," he snapped his fingers, looking at the other walls, seeing another inky prescription written in ink:

WHO'S LAUGHING NOW

"I've got enough of these for one day," he made a face and turned back to the gutted wolf. "I am definitely NOT taking that stupid wrench on your chest."

The gutted Boris said nothing, only staring at him with those lifeless X eyes, as if daring him to take it.

Dear Zeus, this prankster is too overkill. Did Leo did something wrong to that prankster? Maybe it was the Stoll brothers. Yeah, that could be it. They were planning an extreme prank on him. Probably payback for setting their cabin on fire when they fired those paint balloons at the Hephaestus Cabin. Yeah, that's probably it.

Or... maybe to get out of this, he has to collect some items down here or solve a puzzle or whatever. Or fix something? He didn't know. The Stolls were tricky and cunning. Probably to do something for them.

He grabbed it quickly and glared the wolf. "There. Happy?" He asked it.

Boris said nothing again, only staring at him dead in the face.

Leo scowled at him. "Fine. Be that way," he huffed, gripping the large wrench tight in his hand as he forced himself to look away and go away, glowering at the Bendy cutout that grinned at him creepily.

He calmed his nerves that were jumping in fear. Why would somebody do that to Boris? He backed out of the doorway and tried to leave but...

A room with seven pedestals caught his eye, and he ventured towards it, spotting the lever in front.

Probably the thing he had to fix?

He went for the lever and pulled it down. The sign behind it whirred to life and glowed LOW POWER.

"Low power? How do you get this to turn on?" Leo asked himself, walking back and forth as he wracked his brain for a solution. Leo was a good mechanic, he could do it if he put his mind into it...

He suddenly face-planted on the floor as he tripped over something. "What is up with things lying around for me to conveniently trip over?" He complained, rubbing his once-again sore forehead, picking up the object. He blew away the thin layer of dust. "The Illusion of Living" was elegantly scribbled on the front, written by Joey Drew.

Ohhh... so Joey Drew was the one who owned the studio, he remembered. Who knew he wrote books too?

He flicked through the dusty pages, his eyes glossing over the messy print, crossed out phrases and replaced with illegible scrawls. A few words such as "ritual", "sacrifice", "blood", "ink" caught his eye as he read through the pages so fast the type had blurred altogether. "What the heck?" He whispered as he found more markings and symbols that had been scribbled over the true words of the book.

Reading this reminded him of Aunt Rosa. If she knew he was reading this kind of book, she'd yell at him, pinch his ears then yell at him again twenty minutes about he shouldn't be reading this then throwing him to the priest to get him baptized again.

He reached a page where everything was crossed out and a inky scratch that held the phrase: "DEATH AND SACRIFICE FOR HIM WHO'LL SET US FREE"

He made a face at the phrase then set it down on a nearby pedestal, being instantly blinded by light coming from a spotlight. "What the? What the Hades is a spotlight doing here?" His eyes scanned the room and met the picture of a book behind the pedestal.

What was he supposed to do? Find all these stuff and put them in their correct pedestals? But HOW can you turn on an ink machine by putting stuff in the columns? Did it trigger some switch inside when placed there? Or did it somehow power an outlet for a generator that was stationed underground so that the machine could be powered? Or was it THE generator?

At this point, Leo didn't know. This place was weird. It was crazy off like the Labyrinth. His bunker just had to contain a trap tile that headed for the Labyrinth that he fell in and fell in another weird place like this abandoned studio.

Leo really hated his VERY, VERY, VERY bad luck.

He groaned, turning around and almost dying of a heart attack as he faced a stupid and creepy Bendy cardboard cutout, his heart almost running out of his chest as he stared, frozen, for awhile at those dark pie-cut eyes.

That was DEFINITELY not there before.

"Styx!" Leo yelped in surprise, a little too late as it grinned at him with that creepy sketchy smile, frustrated and scared over this creepy prank that those Stolls had made. "CONNOR! TRAVIS! SERIOUSLY?"

Nothing answered. Leo was fuming and at boiling point at this moment.

Angrily, he punched a hole through the cutout. He was angry AND freaking out. Normally, when he punches or hits something, the Stolls would usually show up and apologize (through kidnapping him and then making him watch the stuff he hates then end it with a chocolate cake saying 'sorry', so it was usually worth it...)

The Stolls are completely going overkill, he thought, his mind whirring with his next plans to murder the Stoll Brothers brutally. Suddenly, it looked like it blinked, despite the hole in its eye.

Heart pumping in sudden fear, he ran down the opposite hall and into a room that he wished had no creepy inscriptions or stupid Bendy cutouts. He had enough for one day. He turned around, found a normal table with a tape recorder sitting on top of it. Leo took time to breath before his hand reached for it, but stopped his hand in time.

"No, Leo," he said outloud. "You'll get curious and do whatever you usually do: screw up even more."

 _Stupid,_ his brain scolded him. _You have to fix that Ink Machine right? The Stolls wouldn't leave behind a tape recorder if it was essential._

He was silent for a count of ten, made a mental decision and pressed play.

* * *

 **Chapter one ain't finished. Yetttt.**

 **Agh, I was supposed to study but my cinnamon bun was calling for meeeee.**

 _Marrione_ and **Louise**


	2. Chapter 2

**Two reviews? Thanks a bunch guys! It's just an idea that went to my head. It was the longest chapter of my life so forgive me for some mistakes.**

 **Random BATIM Fan, thanks for reminding me of that XD I forgot Leo's dyslexic but my point was some of the words were incomprehensible or unreadable or difficult to read was because a) it was in English b) Joey's handwriting/anybody who wrote those words was quick and hurried.**

 **The book was explainable, because some words were in Ancient Greek but the words on the wall? Let's say it's part of the plot's convenient details because let's face it, things don't make sense in the studio. (I mean, the son of the god of machinery, which basically runs all the way below the workshop, will still struggle.) Leo will still battle monsters like Bertrum Piedmont and the Projectionist and his magic toolbelt will probably(?) malfunction and operate in the most appropriate and weirdest times.**

 **We'll also deal with that issue now :)**

 **So let's get it on with the story!**

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Disclaimer:

Nope, I learned my lesson, I DON'T OWN BATIM OR PJO!

(also tell me which couple should I put in here ;)

*puppet whacks me in the head and glares*

* * *

Leaning in closer to the tape recorder with hands shaking, Leo tried to read the quiet, messy and small message written on a white strip of tape that looked like it was slapped on the top in a hurry. His mind re-arranged the letters slowly, reading: " **Wally Franks: Diary Tape 1."**

Wally Franks? Who the Hades was Wally Franks?

He didn't have any difficulty reading the weird inscriptions on the walls before. He rubbed his eyes and opened them wide, repeating this three times. Holy Hephaestus, this place was breaking every law of reality or atleast every law he knew atleast was part of reality.

He needed to take a break from magical/monster/illogical interactions. Can't they just leave him alone for once in a while?

Suddenly, the once still recorder began blaring out a loud and rambled message as Leo covered his ears with his hands, blocking out the horrible sound. When the loud sound ended, Leo came to a conclusion: older technology sucks.

He would've loved to say he borrowed a pair of needlenose pliers, a roll of scotch tape and a small screwdriver set and fixed it in the few but then the laws of reality in the studio was stupid. His precious magical toolbelt either a) spat out wads of screws or nails or b) refused to give him what he wanted. It took him four tries, a few pricked fingers and a lot of cursing and tripping around scattered pieces of bolts to actually just pull the things he needed to fix the horribly damaged tape recorder.

He opened the cassette desk and began fixing things, pulling the cassette tape and began fiddling with it. For a few long minutes, he finished it, put the tape back and pressed play.

 _At this point, I don't get what Joey's plan is for this company,_ a man's voice in a Brooklyn accent loudly drawled as Leo sighed in relief, wiping his hands on a rag. _The animations sure aren't being finished on time anymore. And I certainly don't see why we meed this machine. It's noisy, it's messy. And who needs that much ink anyways? Also, get this, Joey had each of us donate something from our work station. We put them on these little pedestals in the break room. "To help appease the gods," Joey says. Keep things going. I think he's lost his mind, but, hey, he writes the checks. But I tell you what, if one more of these pipes burst, I'm out of here._ Static crackled before he realized the tape stopped playing. He stood there, taking in the newly heard information.

He absolutely had no idea on what to do now. How many work stations were there? How many pedestals does he have to occupy? How many items per pedestal?

Wally's diary tape told him something... and he bet his magical tool belt that Wally's information something had to do with powering the Ink Machine.

And of course, the idiotic Stoll brothers had to just make this prank more harder. Why would they need an Ink Machine anyways? Print dozens of flyers declaring the secrets of their pranks? That wasn't bad. Leo would have wanted one. Or maybe to make it spit ink? Make camp overflow with ink? Soak the Iris cabin or the Ares cabin or the Poseidon cabin in ink? They would be angry.

Leo put a hand to his head, feeling an incoming headache. Gods, he had to stop thinking about the Stolls' overly complicated pranks.

At least Wally's tape made some sense. Would it make sense if Leo couldn't decide whether to still try and turn on the machine?

Leo summoned a small fire in his hands. At least he still had his fiery hands. And maybe burn some of those creepy Bendy cardboard cutouts on the way.

Suddenly, his fire spluttered and grew smaller, swaying to some great invisible wind. His fire flickered one time before a drop of ink rolled on his hand and put out his flame.

Leo gaped at it in surprise. Did the ink just read his mind?

Stop being scared, Leo, he chided himself, summoning a claw hammer from his tool belt that seemed to finally give him what he wanted. He handled a giant dragon, a hot girl that kissed him, being dead, having the physician's cure, turning Gaea into a giant smoking sludge of dirt and being hunted by monsters and giants. He could handle freaky ink. He faced much, much worse than this.

He sauntered down the hall, armed with his claw hammer as he went into various rooms and collected things that seemed important from each workstations.

About an hour later, Leo grunted, his arms full of items that could possibly be used in what Wally called the break room. Coming to the doorway of the room, he set down an old record, a tape recorder, a cassette tape, a big fountain pen and a little Bendy plushie he found.

He placed them on their respective columns based on the pictures behind them, seeing spotlights shine on the Bendy plush and the old record. Frowning, he took off the cassette tape, the fountain pen and the tape recorder.

Maybe something else than the fountain pen? Wait... he recalled seeing a small bottle of ink intact in the art room. Maybe it could work?

He turned to the pedestal where he put the cassette tape and tape recorder in. It showed a picture of a gear behind the column. He assumed it would be somewhere near that had gears. Maybe it was looking for a literal gear?

He stuck his hand in his tool belt and desperately wished for a gear. When his hand found something hard and round, he excitedly lifted his hand out and was rewarded with the sign of a small gear. He placed it on the pedestal, crossed his fingers and...

Nothing happened. Leo huffed, taking the gear back in the tool belt's pocket. Maybe it needed a literal gear that came from inside the studio?

He glanced at the pedestal on the far right (A/N I forgot which direction). The picture behind it was a large wrench.

Wait. A wrench?

He brought out the large wrench he got from the gory Boris earlier from his tool belt's pocket and examined it. It was identical to the one in the picture!

Excited, Leo put the wrench on the pedestal. Instantly, a bright light settled itself on the wrench.

Well. Two more pedestals to go.

He passed the hallway, and went down another, going in the art room and looking for the small ink bottle he had spotted there before.

He frowned and began upturning desks, sometimes finding an empty jar. He went down on his knees and began looking for the bottle of ink. Finally, he spotted it underneath a large joint table, which was three tables away from him.

He excitedly grabbed it, and opened, finding it still full of ink. He turned it in his hands, looking for some sort of damage like most items here but was instead met with a skull painted on the label.

Oh, yikes. Leo was back from finding normal items to handling magical poison again. Yay.

(Note the sarcasm.)

Leo patted in inside his tool belt's pocket. He took a step forward and found himself almost tripping over something his tool belt spat out. (A/N why do i like the idea of leo tripping around?)

He took the item from the floor, which was the ink jar.

Ohhhh okay. His tool belt was also back to malfunctioning again. Hooray.

He passed a room on the way, found a gear lying innocently on a table and gripped it tight in his hand with the ink jar, his other hand holding the claw hammer.

He came back to the room, placed the items on their proper pedestals and instantly bright lights fell upon them. He went to pull the lever down, yet nothing happened. "C'mon," he grunted, pulling it down.

Oh Styx. What was he supposed to do next?

He looked down at the lever, noticing the lever that had been previously labeled _LOW POWER_ now read _LOW INK PRESSURE._

At the back of his mind, he remembered a room down the hall where there was an ink pressure machine. Maybe that was the next step?

 _Oh, stop it, Leo,_ his mind hissed at him. _You have to stop what you're doing and GET THE HADES OUTTA HERE!*_

Leo reprimanded his worrisome mind. _We fix this ink machine and the Stolls get us out of here. Sound good?_

 _No, it doesn't sound good,_ his mind angrily shot back. _Those Stolls are pranksters! How do you know they'll get you out when you finish?_

Oh, his very negative mind. Leo made it shut up and focus on the task at hand. He went outside the break room and froze, a shiver traveling up his spine.

The Bendy cutout that was leering at him before with that creepy smile that he had punched straight in the eye?

Now gone.

Leo would be relieved that it was gone because at some point in this studio, he hated these Bendy cutouts.

But this was somehow more unsettling. Probably the fact it disappeared out of nowhere? Or the fact it was very quiet in the studio, assuming Leo had been alone, someone took it without him hearing even with his enhanced senses (thanks to his demi-godliness).

Yep. Leo was sure of it. This place was creepy and as haunted as the House of Hades.

Probably even creepier and much more haunted.

He tried to squish his fear down. "Hahaha. Very, very funny prank, Connor. Very funny, Travis," he said out loud, even thought he had this gut feeling that the Stolls were _nowhere_ near him. Heck, he had a suspicion that they were nowhere near this studio.

Okay, he had to finish fixing this Ink Machine quickly then get the Hades out of here.

He approached the hallway, almost breaking into a run as he felt the beads of sweat run down his forehead, the cold, stale air hitting him.

 _Almost there,_ he thought grimly, going faster when, _oh my gods,_ he saw a Bendy cardboard cutout bearing its signature cheshire grin peek out from the corner _with absolutely no sound of someone moving it behind it._

Leo squeaked and slid to stop inches from the said corner as it disappeared from view, feeling his heart beat wildly.

Oh gods. This wasn't made by the Stolls. They were extreme pranksters but none of their pranks in the pranking history of Camp Half-Blood (every evidence of every prank they ever set up was set up in Chiron's office) was this extreme.

Leo clutched at the front of his shirt, gulping for air, refusing to go into the corridor anymore.

This was the Labyrinth. He was sure of that. Was Pasiphae around here? Did Hazel's trapdoor made Pasiphae disappear _here?_ As far as he knew, only Pasiphae could make people see things like that. Wait. There were the Hecate kids and Hazel too.

Oh, darn. What did he do this time? How and when did he have so many enemies?

He ripped open his tool belt's pockets, desperate to find a weapon. It went back to malfunctioning, occasionally spitting out oil rags and bolts before he found one decent large hammer he could use to whack those Bendy cutouts in the face.

He took a deep breath and cautiously turning around the corner and swung his hammer to find it clear of the Bendy cutout. There was nobody in the viewing room. Instead, the Bendy cutout was now propped up on the wall, smiling wide and smug at him.

Okay. Leo's nerves were now officially on fire.

He put a foot inside the room and alert for some traps triggered by his foot. Instead, the projector in the room flickered on and a Bendy cartoon began to play. The whistles echoed throughout the large and empty studio and its hallways while Leo felt shivers run up and down his spine as he listened to the eerie music fill his ears, as he watched it hop up and down and pump its arms.

He suddenly slapped himself. "Snap out of it!" He gritted out, forcing his legs to rush towards the lever.

He swore on the River Styx that the eyes of the Bendy playing on the projector was watching every move of his, burning a hole in Leo's back as he gripped the handle of the lever.

He needed to get out of here. No prank was this extreme. This wasn't some messed up stuff set up by anybody. Not an attraction that people left sitting either.

No. This place had to be haunted. It was the only explanation for it.

"Remember what this thing wants you to do. Turn on the machine, look at it, fix whatever problem its having then request to leave. Stop being an idiot and leave." He closed his eyes and pushed the lever.

A loud screech made Leo cringe as his eyes opened in realization as he heard the pipes' creaks and groans of incoming ink bursting. Soon, the pipes above the spot he was standing on groaned one more time and Leo dashed out of the way as the pipe burst, gallons of dark ink pouring into the room.

Leo only leapt up a table, trying to keep his balance as his mind questioned what was happening before him. What the Hades? How were pipes filled with ink?

"What now?" He said out loud, trying to keep his balance as the ink steadily rose. He had to get out of here now.

He leapt down and landed not-so-smoothly at the edge of the Bendy cutout, groaning as he clutched his hand that broke the fall. He glanced at up at the cutout and at the projector, feeling eeriness as he swore he saw their grins grow wider and sinister as they stared into him, boring holes in his head.

He took a gamble and ran out of the room as fast as he can, not caring as his feet splashed forcefully against the steadily rising flood of ink that begun to gather in the hallway.

His vision was getting blurry, but it was probably from the loads of ink that had gathered, making everything seem darker. His heart seemed to beat wildly. His body was soaked in sweat and ink was sticking his clothes to his skin. His nerves jumped in fear as he listened to another boom above him and swerved to avoid being drenched.

When he got out of this, Leo promised himself to get a reality check or test himself for insanity.

Why? All of this was strange.

Not strange in a way about fighting monsters daily and being half-god. This was a different kind of strange. He fell in an abandoned studio. He was lured into turning on this crazy and complex ink machine. The gory Boris in the ritual room. The seven pedestals. The strange book of random scribbles written and vandalized with crazy sayings.

More importantly, the Bendy cutout that always followed him everywhere.

His nerves relaxed, as he almost let out a laugh. The absurdity of the events happening to him was familiar to him. He was running from something he didn't know. He was running from differently weird challenges. It was the same cycle he played all his demigod life.

This is familiar territory, he reminded himself. It always turns out alright in the end.

But why does he still have the strange urge to turn on the machine, which was probably the worst mistake and decision he could ever made (besides drinking the physician's cure).

Ugh. His brain hurt and was at breaking point because he could not make up his indecisive mind. Should he turn it on and face the consequences? Or should he just find a way to get the Hades out of here?

He ran towards the hall towards the exit when his mind made him stop and freeze.

 _You tried,_ his mind reasoned. _And failed. How would you barge out the door when your mechanical tool belt back then wasn't malfunctioning yet and you couldn't get out._

He bit his lip, staring at the inky flood gathering at his feet.

It took him a few moments to compose himself, make up a decision and steel his nerves for the possibilities of danger that could be up ahead as his mind basically went: _Oh screw it, you're trapped in here anyways, just work with what you have and go on an adventure._

His ADHD was sometimes annoying. Sometimes, he just wanted to rip it out of his system and stop being reckless.

Living a life full of danger is normal for a demigod like him. Solving puzzles and putting pieces together was part of it. Or discover and fix the problem of the Ink Machine.

"And if it works and begins exploding, just let it destroy itself and this place," he grumbled as he crept back down the hall and back into the creepy hallways as he found himself walking to the big room.

"You'd think this large place could've put up a window or two," he noted as he got out a mini-flashlight out of his tool belt's seemingly functioning pocket as used the light to lit up the way now obscured by ink.

He took a deep breath and ventured forward and cussed Joey Drew's name. Apparently, the former studio owner thought it would be fun for hopeless people like Leo to wander around as he turned the already confusingly creepy building into a full-out haunted maze.

Another thing? Genius himself also turned the Ink Machine as the main power source of the place. He could very much see it due to the pipes weaving in different unnoticeable places.

He really needed to turn on the machine and fix it or something. The sooner he was out of here, the better.

And maybe get someone who could rebuild the studio and chase out whatever weird and creepy was lurking inside. Maybe even get a priest to bless the whole place.

Probably holy water was what those demonic cardboard Bendy cutouts were all that was needed to scare them off. Wait... how would he know what a cutout was afraid of?!

He glimpsed the room with the dead Boris, the ink filling up the room as the corpse was left to rot, the candles softly illuminating his gory form.

Leo winced and quickly darted down the hall. If this really was haunted, the last thing he needed was a dead and very mutated Boris creature chasing after him in the dark.

He entered the big room, the small screen beside the lever flashed READY at him. "No turning back," he breathed, touching the metal handle.

This would be the best time to ask your dad to help you, his mind told him hopefully.

He squeezed his eyes shut. "Dad? If you hear me, help me out! I don't know what to do now... can you give me a hand?"

He opened his eyes and found the lever glowing, as if his dad was encouraging him to pull it down.

He then pulled it down a little forcefully, venting his irritation at the situation as the room going completely dark, making Leo's heart sink. Did the lever somehow malfunction? Did he cut the power? Did he ruin his chance to get out?

No, he firmly decided, feeling the machinery move and creak before the sounds of gears turning and the machine groaning filled the room. He pushed his way through the ink as the pipes above clanged, the dark liquid raining down. Some pipes leaked so much, that the ink steadily rose quicker than before.

He suddenly felt an urge to run when he remembered the floorboards were rotten and might collapse under him. But with all the ink that was gathering, it was a miracle that the floorboards weren't broken yet. Now he got why employees kept complaining. Everybody on the lower floors might've been swimming in ink.

This place was about to drown in ink. And now Leo has to stabilize that stupid machine that leaks and spits out so much ink. Or probably fix the pipes? Maybe the one that lured him mistook him for a plumber? Because he sure as heck doesn't know how to fix pipes.

"Just take a look at the Ink Machine, fix whatever thing that's needed, see what you can do and get the Hades out of here," he mumbled, navigating his way through the inky maze. "Let the machine destroy this damned place. And if that doesn't work, grab all Bendy cutouts you can, get out of here, burn the studio down and personally drown the little cardboard abominations in flames," he mused. That was the best thought he had today.

He turned the corner to the Ink Machine room and his step faltered.

What the Hades?

Someone was definitely here with him. Because there's no way boards could've magically appeared, boarding up the entrance to the Ink Machine room.

Wait, there was a possibility. But even if it was magic, boards were very loud. And being alone in this studio (fine, one of the only possible two people inside), he could've heard it hammering itself in place, heard above all the sounds the pipes were emitting. When did this happen?

But, still. Someone had boarded up the entrance while he was gone. But why? Leo couldn't think of any reason to barricade the entrance. The only thing that was dangerous inside was the machine, right? It couldn't grow any legs and arms and storm through the entrance. Or could it?

He carefully approached it, clutching his hammer with both hands and ready to swing it

"Hello?" Leo let out a call holding his breath. Suddenly, he stopped talking and turned around to feeling something tugging at his pants leg. He let out a sigh of relief as he found it was just stuck on a loose floorboard. He began tugging at it in irritation with one hand when suddenly, something began to tug at his left sleeve.

"Don't tell me the boards are the monsters in here," he groaned as he tore his pant leg in other to get free and turning around.

He let out a startled yell, the shout dying in his throat as his heart plummeted to his stomach in absolute fear when he saw a razor sharp clawed hand grip his sleeve. Pulling itself up from it's railing, it revealed a monstrous six feet of inky and ugly glory of a body.

He thought the 'body' of ink basically just clumped together by a toddler was creepy enough but when the head turned around a hundred and eighty degrees to show it's face and face him...

If he wasn't petrified in fear before, well, he was now absolutely frozen and petrified in fear.

Ink was dripping down in thick* clumps down his body. It towered a good foot over him. The head formed two horns curved inward, looking almost familiar. As the ink continued to drip down the face, a chill ran down his back when he glimpsed a twisted, maniacal and crazed grin, full of teeth that looked as if it had been sketched.

His blood suddenly went cold when he realized the thing's face. It was a very twisted, a very deformed and a monster version of this studio's very own mascot. It looked like the famous cartoon that had been drawn in these very halls.

It was Bendy, the Little Devil Darling.

His grip on his hammer loosened in surprise and it slipped from his hands, drowning in the rapidly rising ink.

They stared at each other for a moment before the monster lunged at him from the boards, its clawed hands grabbing at his sleeve.

A small part of his mechanic brain stupidly questioned how a non-living ink machine managed to spit out a figure, deformed, yet alive and now immortalized* and praised the builder for making an incredible machine while about eighty percent of his brain was slapping him and screaming at him that YOU'RE IN DANGER LEO, WHAT THE HECK DO THINK YOU'RE THINKING, YOU SHOULD BE RUNNING LIKE HADES IS CHASING AFTER YOU RIGHT NOW!

Leo, now weaponless, responded to his brain's complaints as 'Bendy' tore the boards apart and ran after him. Leo blindly turned around and took off running down the inky halls.

It seemed like this Bendy could control or, at least, influence the ink. The ink on the walls seem to thicken and drip ink uncontrollably, the ink reaching his knees now as Bendy came closer.

He looked over his shoulder to find Bendy quickly limping towards him, the grin on his face like a predator finally about to eat its prey. He quickly ducked over a falling floorboard and turned the corner, blindly navigating the inky place.

He reached the main room, panting and making a mistake to look up.

The whole studio was beginning to fall apart. The ink itself was destroying the whole place. What the heck was happening to him right now?

He stole another glance at his shoulder to see if Bendy was still following him, his nerves jumping as the abomination turned the corner with a limp, slowly dragging itself towards him with a limp as the ink on the walls turned darker.

It lazily flashed a sinister grin, almost mocking him.

Leo's blood boiled with anger. He wanted to strangle this weird creature that he basically created by turning on the Ink Machine. He wanted to smash that cocky grin in.

Leo stopped in his tracks, which made Bendy stop limping, raising its shoulders in a slow way as if asking Leo what was he doing.

Leo pointed at the creature. "Back away," he said, summoning a small fire that danced at his fingertips as Bendy froze. Small droplets of ink tried to put out the flame, but Leo made imagined a hotter fire that burned the ink. "Stay away," he croaked out loud.

He imagined burning down this inky creature once and for all, and if the floor and walls caught fire, he was immune to it. But yeah, no, Leo decided, eyeing the exit, his heart soaring. He didn't want to be killed by floorboards and gods-know-how-many Bendy cutouts that decided to fall on him and crush him for revenge.

He didn't hesitate and bolted to the door, as the door slightly was ajar, as if beckoning him to run to freedom.

And one thing Leo knew about himself? His mind was faster than anyone else, but his body? Couldn't follow his thoughts.

His mind immediately alerted him about the rotten weakened floorboards directly in front of the door. The one that he needed to avoid that creaked and groaned dangerously when he previously fell on it before. It managed to hold up before, but with the black ink straining to be free against the mismatched boards that had been used to hold up the dilapidated walls?

It was a wonder it managed to hold up the ink.

The weight of the gallons of ink combined with his own weight, it shattered as soon as his foot hit it.

Only one thought flew through his mind as he tried to do anything, jump, hop, latch on to something. 'I'm screwed', he thought, eyes widening in surprise as he felt gravity pull him down. 'I'm going to die with nobody knowing.'

Broken boards, clumps of ink and cobwebs flashed through his eyes as he seemingly tumbled endlessly in the deep hole, plunging deeper underneath the studio as he gasped in pain as he hit sudden boards that stuck out of nowhere hard, causing him to lose focus of his trip down.

If he cussed Joey Drew's name before, he now wanted to kill the old studio founder.

Suddenly, his ADHD kicked in. If it weren't for it, he would've been instantly skewered already. He avoided a large sharp board, ducked and rolled, his body being completely submerged in the inky flood, his breath knocked out of him as he hit the flood hard.

The ink had absorbed most of the fall, but it didn't stop the fiery hot pain throbbing in his legs and shooting up his spine as his feet touched the floor, splinters here and there embedding itself in his arms as he flailed around.

Out of all the things he had to land on, why did it have to be his left pocket that he forgot had held a few drachmas?

He stumbled around in pain, falling on his backside several times while shrieking "OUCH!" as he painfully touched his left lower leg. Maybe broken? Out of all things that he could've have, why a broken leg? He still needed to run away from - from whatever inky creature that was.

He took a few deep breaths. He never had an injury whenever he fell. Not when he even landed in Ogygia. Maybe a big migraine, a couple bruises and a few scratches but that was nothing he could handle and nothing he could fix.

But this time? A week at most, and a day at best. He weakly patted his pockets, wishing for some ambrosia.

Apparently, he forgot his pocket didn't extend to food. He sat there for hours in agony while listening to his stomach growl in hunger.

Man. He really did deserve to get that double platinum card for crashing/falling/landing.

When a million years suddenly passed, he looked up and squinted at the faint source of light that came from the hole above. Ink slowly oozed out of the sides and fell down on him. Why did it look so far away from him? It was just as tall as Festus... maybe a few stories higher.

The question was... how the Hades did he survive that fall?

He shivered as he looked up, expecting the monster to jump down and chase him. Oh no... he had a very distinct demigodly scent. Plus, he was probably the only thing alive in this studio.

If Bendy was on his trail... well. He had to move.

He groaned in pain as he waddled through the room, looking for something useful. Luckily, the Fates left him a clue: another tape secretly hiding in the corner of the room.

He squinted at the label to read it. Unlike the other signs that were easily readable (at least readable due to his ADHD not acting up), it seemed like the label on this tape wasn't affected by some sort of magic that allowed him to read signs and whatnot.

But even as he squinted at it, he couldn't make it out. There was barely any light in here. He couldn't even see ten inches in front of him.

If only some goddess gave him some light source, heck, he would even settle for a rainbow...

His eyes lit up as he painfully dug his palm in his back pocket. Jackpot! He brought out one drachma, holding it up in the faint light.

A drachma. A drachma! He could get out of here! Iris message Chiron, get him to send campers to help him out. Yeah... that sounded good! All he had to do was wait for help then!

He hopefully looked around the room for some sign that there was a source of water. Maybe there was a restroom or a water pipe in here he could use to make an Iris message?

But if there was at least one usable source of water, it was probably submerged underneath the inky flood.

He pocketed the shiny drachma once more. It'll come in handy later.

* * *

 **I'M SORRY I FORGOT THIS BIG CHAPTER THAT I WANTED TO FINISH BUT I COULDN'T BECAUSE STUPID EXAMS AND SUCH AND I SWEAR I'LL WRAP UP CHAPTER ONE AND START CHAPTER TWO IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!**

 **DEAR GOSH, I'M SORRY GUYS DX**


	3. Chapter 3

**So... I'm back AND I SWEAR TO GOD THIS WAS FREAKING EXHAUSTING-**

 **So I watched, bought and played Chapter Five. I'd say Chapter Four was creepier but Chapter Five brought me to my knees screaming in confusion. The ending was a stupid cliffhanger (honestly, it was amazing, hands down) but hats to theMeatly for this amazing piece of work! Leo's now finishing up chapter one and heading towards chapter two. Maybe if I get a creative spark, I may change things and create the Archives as some last hurrah before Leo gets out. ANYWAY! I'm behind schedule so let's get on with it!**

 **Also, Bendy Toon, I love your idea. But to clarify, we're going with some theories alongside this canon in-game stuff. First, I think this is a time loop (as you clearly go back at the end of chapter five, you go back to the start of chapter one) that Leo broke by falling into. Same things clearly happen here, same events will follow, but since Leo broke the time loop, he has the power to change events little by little. I like the idea of befriending Alice and then going towards and generally having a conflict... I guess you'll just have to find out in the next chapters ;)**

* * *

Disclaimer: I will not be writing on FFN and would be creating the sequel 'IFFFFF' I owned the game. But for the sake of those who don't get it, I DON'T OWN THE GAME.

Warning: Canonical in-game events will be mixed with theories; ToA will be canon in this, except that Calypso never went on a quest, Apollo went alone, Piper stayed behind after Jason's death and... just that. (P.S Caleo is semi-canon)

* * *

Should he find the drain or listen to the tape recording?

Looking for the drain would mean he'd find his way quicker by finding the drain. Draining the flood would help Leo run faster and it wasn't that safe to be stuck in a flood in which the one he was running from was made of. But last time, the tape recorder helped him and gave him instructions. Those instructions weren't helpful right now from his perspective, but it was all he had. Maybe it was some employee yelling last-minute instructions on how to get out.

He made a decision.

Leo walked through the waist-length inky flood towards the bookshelf where the barely seen tape recorder currently was laid on.

Glancing at the boarded walls and the chipped tiles running around the edges, he involuntarily shivered. The studio was old, the heater (if there was one installed; heck, probably if there even was invented in the time period the studio seemed to be in) was probably rotten and impossible to fix, but add that and the slimy old and very cold ink. It was very cold in the studio.

He pressed the play button on the tape recorder, hoping it wasn't as messed up as the last one. He was wishing that he wouldn't have to fix a screwed tape recorder.

 **"It's dark and it's cold and it's stuck in behind every single wall now. In some places, I swear this godforsaken ink is clear up to my knees!"** The tape recorder rumbled as a middle-aged man ranted on grumpily. **"Who ever thought that these crummy pipes could hold up under this kind of strain either knows something about pressure I don't, or he's some kind of idiot. But the real worst part about all this... are them noises the system makes. Like a dying dog on it's last legs. Make no mistake, this place... this... machine... heck, this whole damn thing... it just isn't natural. You can bet, I won't be doing any more repair jobs for Mister Joey Drew."** The tape recorder blared out static before it turned off.

Leo grudgingly stomped forcefully through the flood. Well, that wasn't exactly what he expected to hear. All he heard was an employee complaining again (he couldn't really blame them) about this studio and his employer and being suspicious about the machine. What he needed to hear was a nice long piece of advice...

 _Snap out of it,_ his mind scolded him. _Complaining like a baby won't do anything. Use your head!_

 _I'm trying,_ he thought back, glancing around as he brought out the drachma to inspect his surroundings in faint light. _But there's always something that could help me out during quests. Oh, right. This isn't a quest! Just an adventure full of death and suffering._

Spotting a door to the side, he made his way towards it. To be safe, he peeked at the corner, sighing in relief that there wasn't any Bendy cutout. Bad news, it was leading towards a small hallway that had a small staircase swamped with ink. He looked around for a valve that could drain the flood. He found it and turned it.

"Awww," he groaned as he stepped forward. "Don't tell me I have to go down and get more cold and slimy ink on me."

 _Well, buddy,_ the staircase seemingly taunted him. _If you wanna live, this is the way._

The inky flood began to go down slowly, allowing Leo to walk properly down the stairs to whatever creepy place this was suppose to lead to. He winced at every step he took, the wooden stairs groaning. He gripped the walls with what part of his hands wasn't covered in slippery ink as he carefully went down. The light above him continously flickered, giving him an indie horror game vibe... wait... light?

Leo looked up and squinted. True enough, there was light. How had he not notice it? "How did light just show up?"

It flickered off long enough to make him not to question it. He was just grateful that light just decided to show up. He pocketed the drachma, wishing to save it for later.

He continued on, lowering the flood with the use of another valve. "Man, how deep is this place? Joey's crazy to build this much underground where everything would have collapsed," He noted as he trudged along, turning the valve at the very bottom of the stairs, completely lowering the inky flood.

He glanced around, finding more boards on the walls and a door. _Oh, boy. Here goes nothing,_ he thought as he clutched the doorknob and twisted it. Surprisingly, the door did not resist and opened wide. It revealed a room full of storage crates and another entrance boarded up.

Leo involuntarily stepped away from the boarded up entrance, internally cringing. _Last time a doorway was boarded up, some creepy ink creature charged at me and almost killed me,_ he thought as he looked around for something or some clue.

He turned around to find himself looking once more at a message slathered in ink on the wall. He stepped away from it again. Some kind of magic forced him to read it even if Leo looked anywhere but that wall.

 _ **'The Creator lied to us'**_

"Nope, nope, nope," Leo turned around, a hand on his forehead. A simple little fall and exploring just turned into an indie horror game in a few... hours? Minutes? Days? Leo didn't know the time. If he was truly in the Labyrinth, where time was seriously messed up, for all he knew, his adventure could take a decade or a few seconds. He had no way to tell time.

But seriously, an indie horror game themed adventure? First, a decaying studio. Then creepy Bendy cutouts. Then a dead Boris. Then a creepy ink monster who almost killed him by falling. Now creepy ink messages?

Just survive was all he could do. But even he knew, indie horror game themed adventures were no good. Unlike those games he played so much with Jason or Piper, there was no reset or save or checkpoint here.

He spotted a glint on the wall, getting excited. Maybe some picture that indicated something? Something someone left behind in a hurry to get out?

He made his way closer and found an axe hanging from the wall. "Score!" Leo grinned and grabbed it from its place. The axe wasn't heavy or out of balance. It was somehow perfect. Leo gave a small swing to test it. It had a little more weight than he anticipated. Well, that was fine. Besides, he'd willingly carry a perfectly good weapon that was a little heavy than be defenseless. A sharp blade and a nice handle. It'd do more damage and help than his malfunctioning toolbelt could.

Leo approached the entrance, ready to swing the axe. "Whatever's in there, can I axe you? Are you prepared to meet my little friend?" He snorted at his own joke, filling the silence that nobody responded.

"Well, ready or not, here I come," he swung the axe, chopping the boards easily and shattering them into pieaces as he smiled. He found another hallway, making his way down, whistling as he faced another door blocked. Who was boarding up these doorways. The last time, he found the boarded doorway helpful but this time, what the purpose? Prevent another weird ink creature from charging or escaping? Or just to make people like him alert down here?

He swung the axe, leaving nothing behind whole as he approached the room, turned the knob and almost dropped his axe.

Almost.

He jumped back in horror (and let out a manly scream) as he cussed out Joey Drew's name. There were coffins, candles... even a summoning circle in the middle of the room! "Aw, c'mon! Don't tell me I have to deal with this ritual stuff down here!" He gasped for breath as he held the axe in front of him. Why can't he just take a nice, small break from life? Like just chilling in his bunk, eating delicious Fonzies? Or just playing a game? Or drinking some nice hot chocolate while reading/translating Archimedes' scrolls?

"Don't tell me someone's worshipping this monster..."

He cautiously took a step forward, staring grudgingly at the black ink on the floor in the shape of a pentagram. The other door across the room was suspiciously boarded up. Three chairs surrounded the design on the floor. Six candles were lit and burning, the only light source in the room, were glowing softly and casting shadows across the room and the coffins in which he hoped he wouldn't have to open and find it possessed disemboweled bodies inside and across his ink-stained face, making everything seem more sinister and creepy.

He listened carefully to the creaking boards as he walked slowly forward. Just one, tiny, small movement.

 _Look down, genius,_ his mind reminded him.

He slowly looked down to find the tip of his foot across the summoning circle. His grip on the axe suddenly loosened and it slipped from his fingers. He lurched forward hard and stumbled, as he struggled to regain his balance. The axe clattered beside him as it seemed like the whole room shook with force, forcing him to the ground.

He let out a yelp as he clutched his head, visions shooting through his mind, orange and yellow flashing in front of his eyes. A blurred image of the ink machine flashed before his eyes. He stumbled around, facing the coffins when an image of a rusted wheelchair suddenly came to mind, making him turn abruptly and fall to his knees.

A final image came to mind. A creature coated in ink, maliciously grinning, standing in the doorway, towering over him like a predator would do to its prey. An ink stained white flopped on its chest. It was reaching for something... someone... for its prey. The curved horns and the face looked strikingly familiar. It was the ink monster that chased him upstairs. It was the mascot of the studio he was in. It was the familiar cartoon demon that made everyone laugh.

"Bendy..." he whispered in a low tone of voice, his voice shaking with fear.

Suddenly, the urge to sleep overtook him. It blocked all coherent thoughts Leo tried to form as he tried to move, to scream, to do something... anything! But as Bendy seemingly approached him, his body gave out. Arms and legs failing, he sprawled out on the floor, aware yet not fully awake. He gratefully and silently slipped into darkness that consumed him.

* * *

Leo's eyes opened, yawning as he glanced around.

Somehow, he was back at camp. He felt happiness explode. It was all a dream after all.

The cabin counselors (the remaining left at camp) were all gathered around the ping-pong table, looking somehow serious. He looked around. Piper looked like she lost a lot of sleep, Nyssa looked tense and Calypso... Leo's heart suddenly yearned for her. The beautiful demi-titaness had now circles under her eyes and had messy hair. She looked like she was nearly on the verge of kicking or punching something.

He hesitantly waved a hand in front of Chiron's face, who didn't respond and didn't move. So, this was the dream. Which probably meant he was still back at Joey Drew Studios. And hopefully alive and not eaten by Bendy yet.

"Nyssa?" Chiron called her attention from the front of the table. "Status update on Leo?"

Nyssa rubbed her forehead as she sighed, throwing a sideways glance at Calypso. "It's his third day gone, there's no sign of him... yet," she said slowly. "We could probably use someone to translate the scrolls, maybe that could hold something that could help us in finding him."

Piper frustratingly banged her head on the table. "What is up with him missing? First to Calypso's island, no offense," she said, messing up her hair. "Then, him dying, then this? What kind of trouble is he in now?"

"Hey, stop that!" A cabin counselor laughed. "It's wrong to speak ill of the dead."

Piper's hands clenched into fists. But she was too late. Calyspo came first and swung her fist as hard as she could. Just as about as she was about to murder him, a voice spoke.

"He's not dead, if that's what you're saying," Nico piped up from the shadows, appearing and sitting on his seat beside Will Solace, the son of Apollo.

Chiron looked immensely relieved. "Calypso, please take a seat and calm down. You, Sherman, however, probably have to go see a medic," he said with a pointed look at Will Solace, who immediately responded and proceeded to patch up his bloody nose.

He approached the table, leaning on a chair that was occupied. "That's my girl," he grinned as he saw the smug look in Calypso's eyes as she sat back down.

Leo watched the events happening before him. He never realized he woke up Cloven, who was now staring directly and intensely at him.

"Leo?" He whirled around, to find the sleeping counselor staring at him. "What are you doing here?"

"I dunno. This seems like a dream," Leo replied as he grabbed an empty seat and leaned back on it.

"Seems like it. I'm asleep in the real world, so you're probably in a dream. So since you're here and Chiron'll kill me if I don't ask you what's happening to you, so how are you?"

"Terrible. I'm stuck in a haunted studio, with some creepy ink monster chasing after me. It's giving off an indie horror game vibe to me."

Cloven looked mildly interested. "What studio? And monster?"

"Joey Drew Studios. There's this ink thing that chased me and kinda looks like the studio's mascot, you know, Bendy the Dancing Demon? Also, there's some crazy cult stuff in here that looks like they're worshipping Bendy."

Cloven looked at him in surprise. "Bendy? That old cartoon and cult stuff happening? Seems like Piper was right. What kind of trouble are you in now?"

"Serious trouble. I fell in the Labyrinth, which opened some kind of chute into this old workshop."

"Oh, the Labyrinth. Isn't the studio so far away from here and so old, probably... half a century old now?" He looked him up or down. "Oh, seems like you're being pulled back into the studio," he pointed at his fading form, yawning. "Well, good luck, Leo. Any messages you want to pass on?"

Leo looked at his hands, which were evaporating into thin air. "One last thing," he told Cloven. "Tell Calypso I'm still alive and hopping, alright?" He told Cloven as he faded into thin air.

* * *

He woke up with a start, groaning as he lifted his head off the floor, his whole body aching. He pushed himself up, confusedly looking around. "What happened?" _I swear to the gods of Olympus, the last thing I remember was... Bendy?_

 _Wait, BENDY?!_

He jumped up and stood straight, alert all at once, spinning around to find himself standing in the summoning circle. "How am I even alive?!"

 _WHAT THE ABSOLUTE HADES, LEO? YOU JUST SLEPT. IN. A. SUMMONING. CIRCLE._

He cringed as he backed away from it, making him bump into the coffins. Something clattered to the ground and he whirled around, spotting the axe.

He sighed in relief. "Seems like he's a nice monster after all," he smiled a little as he handled the axe, holding it tightly in his grasp.

He turned towards where he came from. Maybe he could go back? He did lower the flood after all and he could probably build something out of scraps that could get him out of the hole and out of this building.

As he approached the door, his hopes sank. The hallway had caved in, jagged boards sticking out of the large pile of something that blocked the way. So, he could only go forward and into more dangerous territory?

"Sounds like a plan," he trudged forward, stopping in front of the boarded door. He raised the axe and whacked it two times, enabling him to move forward and to walk down another staircase. "Uh, whoever or whatever you are, can you give me a warning please?" He yelled, his voice bouncing off the walls, silence responding to him.

 _Great. That means me and that ink monster are the only living things stuck here._

All the time Leo had spent here (he was sure it had been a few hours, but at camp, it had already been three days), he came to accept the weird possibility that cartoons were real. Gods were real, so its possible other things could be real too, right? Leo was very open-minded about the fact that certain things could exist... but not the fact that something could create something out of _ink_ and what seemed like dark magic. How did they come to life? Did the man, Joey Drew, made a deal with something dark? Or did he just had the power to do it, like how Nico Di Angelo could make skeletons come to life? Was he a demigod?

Leo shook his head. _You're overcomplicating things again, Leo. Be simple._

He hurried down the stairs, dodging a conveniently falling board on top of him. _Gods of Olympus, this place is falling apart at its own._

He reached the bottom of the stairs, convinced that the Fates were seriously about to make this ten times more worse when he turned around and got it right.

He stared horrified at another inky scrawl on the wall. "This is getting more ritualistic at the moment," he muttered as he gripped his axe tighter as he read it slowly.

 ** _'He will set us free'_**

The scrawl was complete with an image of Bendy, candles illuminating the writing on the wall softly and bowls filled with... whatever ritualistic stuff or sacrifice it contained decorating it. Was this some kind of creepy shrine for the ink creature or the cartoon character?

He approached closer. Examining the shrine, he found another tape recorder hiding among the bowls and candles. Since there was basically nothing guiding him, maybe this time he'll get lucky and actually receive instructions.

He peered on the name scrawled on the tape. It was a little hard to make out but he read it anyway: Sammy Lawrence: The Demon's Prayer.

He gave a sad sigh at the name. Sammy. The namesake of his _bisabuelo,_ the former crush of Hazel Levesque, a good friend of his. The time period in which this studio seemed to be built was probably the same as the time period of Hazel and Sammy. He wondered whether his _bisabuelo_ enjoyed watching this, if it already existed in the short period of time that this studio seemed to be popular.

He shook his head. _No nostalgia for now, Valdez. But on the bad side,_ _somebody did go crazy in here and was doing all these ritualistic stuff. Way to go, Joey Drew,_ he thought as he hesitantly reached over and pressed play.

 **"He appears from the shadows, to rain his sweet blessings upon me. The figure of ink that shines in the distance. I see you, my Savior. And I pray that you hear me,"** the radio blared out loud a voice of a man in a slightly crazed tone, making Leo cringe away from it as he looked at the tape with confusion.

What. The. Hades?

 **"Those old songs, yes, I still sing them. For I know that You are coming to save me. And I will be swept into Your final loving embrace. But... love requires sacrifice."**

WHAT. THE. ABSOLUTE. HADES?

 **"Can I get an Amen?"** The tape recorder let out a short burst of static and turned off, signaling the end of the recording.

Leo looked at it, repulsed. "No, you sure as Hades won't get an Amen from me-"

 _"I said... CAN I GET AN AMEN?"_ The too familiar voice of Sammy Lawrence echoed in the empty halls, causing Leo to whirl around and wildly swing his axe and to whip head around to see if the Sammy guy was in the same room as him. The voice couldn't have come from the tape. But the room was empty. "HOLY HEPHAESTUS!" He yelped as he backed against the shrine.

His stomach plummeted. So he wasn't alone in this studio. Great. More monsters to deal with and more monsters wanting to come after him. The bigger part of his mind was ordering him to move NOW and be safe.

But a small, sassy part of his mind couldn't resist it. The temptation was too great. He just had to do it. This was stupid, but he could afford to act stupid since he had nothing to do anyways, right? Well, acting stupid would probably result in a more painful and gruesome death but this was a once in a lifetime opportunity...

He casually propped up his axe on the wall and cupped his hands. "I DON'T KNOW," He yelled, inwardly snickering. "CAN YOU?" Truly laughing for once in this haunted studio, he bent over as he picked up his axe, listening to his laughs ringing through the halls. Now in a good mood, Leo moved down the hall, wondering when was the last time this studio had heard someone laugh.

 _Leo, are you completely crazy now?_

Yeah. He probably was. He was in the Labyrinth after all. Or some part in the Labyrinth.

He did his best to ignore the other alters and few tall coffins lying around, trying to keep up his good spirits. He whistled a tune as he trudged on through a flooded hallway (again) and tried to not drown. He was distracted on making sure he didn't lose his axe in the flood when he heard something...

His head snapped up when he heard someone's mutterings up ahead. A black humanoid figure wearing some overalls reminiscent to Boris' overalls with something strapped on his face walked across the door, carrying a... Leo squinted in the faint light to see it. A Bendy cutout? What insanely brave or incredibly stupid person would want to touch those creepy cardboard cutouts, much less even carry it. Nevertheless, it was a human (or humanoid) that might offer him something. He didn't know what? Advice? Help? Just not the Bendy cutout...

"Hey!" Leo waved his arms to get its attention, careful to not let go of the axe. "Excuse me? Can you help me out of here? Hello?" He rushed through the ink as fast as he could, grunting as he pulled himself up, turned the corner to find the mystery dude had disappeared. "Where the heck did he go?"

Oh, great. _Now we're bringing a creature teleporting into this. This is not funny, Fates._ Leo stared at the wall at which the direction of the guy had been facing and walking towards. The Bendy cutout had been set up and propped against the wall, offering him that haunting and seemingly innocent smile of his. Behind him was another ritual circle painted in ink. Leo had enough of these cutouts. He raised his axe and whacked the cutout into tiny little pieces.

Beside him was a collapsed shelf of Bacon Soup.

At the exact moment, his stomach growled at seeing the food. He reached for a can, before stopping himself.

 _Dude, that thing is expired. That's as old as your bisabuelo, even older!_ His mind argued.

 _But come on!_ His stomach complained. _That's food standing in front of us, and for your information, according to the dream we had, we had no food for three days!_

 _But that's expired! Who knows what might happen to you!_ His mind furiously reasoned with him as he reached for one and held it in his hand. _For all you know, you'll die of severe food poisoning faster than Bendy would kill you!_

 _Too late,_ his stomach smugly as Leo opened the can, tilted his head back and drank the contents. Surprisingly, the contents didn't taste that bad, but a little bit of salt and maybe some spices could help...

 _Suit yourself,_ his mind grumbled as it settled back down.

He turned around from the shelf and dropped his jaw. The Bendy cutout was still smiling and standing up, whole, as if he didn't destroy it a couple minutes ago. "How the heck- you know what?" Leo turned around and walked the opposite hallway. "I'm done. I'm not even questioning anything anymore."

Where was he even going? He had no sense of direction. Was he just following the paths that weren't blocked (presumably controlled by Bendy) so that he could fall into his miserable death? Or was he on another scavenger hunt for something useful?

 _Oh, for the love of Aphrodite, just move forward._

He didn't get very far. Before him was a metal gate, blocking the way.

Why though? Blocking something creepy again? This time, he might actually not open those... but he had to move. Bendy was probably tracking him down right now and staying still wouldn't help.

He looked at the opening mechanism beside the metal gate. Maybe he could figure out a way without losing his mind in here.

* * *

 **For that old meme, I am completely and terribly sorry! I haven't updated for a month and I give you this?! What is wrong with me!? I don't know what I'm doing, pumping out horror or writing y'all some Valez humor. Please send help to me XD**

 **The subtle changes that Leo would bring to the game to destroy the loop would happen next chapter. I swear, I will work overtime just to pump it out on November 28. See, it's a special day for me. Nothing important for you, but to me, I'll celebrate it by giving out a new chapter of this, a new chapter of NEW LIFE, a small fic for BATIM and writing something that has been severely overdue for Marrione.**

 **I hope you liked this long chapter. Leave more ideas in the reviews, and don't forget to favorite and follow! It'll keep Bendy happy enough to distract him long enough from finding Leo... or would it. ;)**

 **Also please tell me if somebody was ooc in this. Cloven was incredibly OOC and I hope the dream sequence was good enough. Please tell me the errors!**

 **-Louise**


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